Get your artistic skills ready!!  Lotus Travel is sponsoring a kids art contest for Lunar New Year cards!  This is for kids ages 6-12, so big kids, relax!!

 

We will publish the winners in our Lunar New year newsletter. That person will win a $200 travel heritage trip voucher certificate!   This is the year of the Tiger, so get those creative ideas  coming!   Submit your designs to [email protected] The contest is open now; final day for entry is January 15th.   Bring on the ideas!

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released a major study on identity formation for adopted persons and can help understanding on a range of issues relating to adoption, particularly across racial lines.

Key findings include:

�  Adoption becomes an increasingly significant aspect of identity for most adopted people - and race/ethnicity grows in importance for adoptees of color - throughout childhood and into adulthood.

�  Adoption-related teasing and bias are a reality for many adoptees, but more so for non-Whites - who experienced the most negative behavior and comments from extended family and childhood friends. Race trumped adoption for adopted persons of color; i.e., a large majority experienced race-based discrimination rather than (or in addition to) adoption-related negativity.

�  A significant majority of transracially adopted adults reported considering themselves to be or wanting to be White as children - a stark message to parents and professionals. 

 

 � The most effective strategies for achieving positive identity formation are "lived experiences" - in particular, travel to native country and attending racially diverse schools for the transracial adoptees. Click to read a complete summary.  (Study: Beyond Culture Camp)

    This month we are featuring a story of adoption by Jeff Gammage, the dad of one of our travelling families. His book, "China Ghosts" has been a adoption best seller on Amazon and is compelling with its combination of heartfelt passionate love and his keen observation skills as a reporter.    Follow along in this interview and learn more.  

 

Q:  Why the title 'China Ghosts'?
 
A:  "Most of the abandoned children in China are second daughters; which means that my Jin Yu probably has an older, biological sister living in China. If the desires of her birthparents came to pass, then she has a younger brother there as well. Sometimes I feel that Jin Yu's Chinese parents are almost standing beside me, watching her grow, checking on whether or not I'm doing a good job raising her. I think about her Chinese aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, and about the children still living in the orphanage. This is the ghost family I have brought home from China."

   

 Click Jeff Gammage  to read the full interview.

This month is the celebration of Adoption during November.  It originally began in 1976 as Adoption Week.  Officially, National Adoption Day is the Saturday before Thanksgiving; which makes Saturday, November 14th the official date. For your family's consideration, we offer ten celebration suggestions to consider.

 

Click Celebration Ideas for the full story.